I have been meaning to explore Nim for a while because it feels like "golang, but python syntax and dev experience." I vibe coded a simple tool, tt, that allows me to track time to a central log from all my devices. Realllly simple:
$ tt stats
Time Tracking Stats
Total entries: 39
First entry: Oct 21, 2025 23:04
Last entry: Oct 30, 2025 18:29
Tracking since: 228h 34m
Days tracked: 5
$ tt "working on xyz today"
Logged at 11:38:44
$ tt today
Today (1 entries)
11:38:44 working on xyz today
The code is pretty damn ugly though, I feel like I am working with perl:
proc groupIntoThreads(entries: seq[Entry], threshold: Duration): seq[seq[Entry]] =
if entries.len == 0:
return @[]
var sorted = entries
sorted.sort(proc (a, b: Entry): int =
if a.timestamp < b.timestamp: -1
elif a.timestamp > b.timestamp: 1
else: 0
)
result = @[]
var currentThread = @[sorted[0]]
for i in 1..<sorted.len:
let gap = sorted[i].timestamp - sorted[i-1].timestamp
if gap > threshold:
result.add(currentThread)
currentThread = @[sorted[i]]
else:
currentThread.add(sorted[i])
if currentThread.len > 0:
result.add(currentThread)
What are the `@` characters for? Are they what makes it feel like Perl?
Because other than them I don’t think the equivalent Python code would look much different. Maybe more concise, e.g. you could replace the second section with something like `sorted = entries.sorted(key=lambda entry: entry.timestamp)`.
There are shorter options in Nim too, depending on your stylistic preferences
let sorted = entries.sorted(proc (a, b: Entry): int = cmp(a.timestamp, b.timestamp))
let sorted = entries.sorted((a, b) => cmp(a.timestamp, b.timestamp))
let sorted = entries.sortedByIt(it.timestamp)
I suppose you could change the whole proc to something like
proc groupIntoThreads(entries: seq[Entry], threshold: int): seq[seq[Entry]] =
let sorted = entries.sortedByIt(it.timestamp)
for i, entry in sorted:
if i == 0 or entry.timestamp - sorted[i - 1].timestamp > threshold:
result.add(@[sorted[i]])
else:
result[^1].add(sorted[i])
@[] is syntax for a "seq", which is similar to a C++ vector, ArrayList in Java/C#, or a python list. It's a heap-allocated array that automatically resizes.
In contrast with [], which is mostly identical to a C array: fixed size and lives on the stack.
